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Pinetree
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Savage Voyageur: "He stopped short of saying the wolf are the main problem. Well then riddle me this Batman, if only .24% of the calves are surviving the winter in the areas that have doubled the wolf population what else can it be? "
It wasn't the wolf in northwestern Minnesota caused a 95% drop in the population,there was few wolves when drop started. Yes in certain areas and certain times the wolf will be the number one case. But a lot more is going on.
Yes from the beginning I believed the wolf played a role in lowering the population,especially calves. Look at the adult population numerous things are happening as discussed before. Look to northeastern United States and moose numbers dropping and no wolves.
Like mentioned before I have seen moose with no hair in Quetico that looked a scaley sick white color. Hair gone because of rubbing to remove ticks.
Just like you or I,we may get sick from one disease and you can handle it,another ailment hits you and you start getting a cumulative affect. Also like when you get sick you don't have the strength to do many of your daily activities. A moose might not be able to fend of wolves in those conditions.
Nature normally can fend off so many scenario's but you get too much going on and things can collaspe(sp). That is exactly what Dr. David Mech the number 1 moose expert in the world going back to the late 60's. Many people remember him around Ely when he was just getting started. What a career.
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The Great Outdoors
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They seem to think this is a big surprise, but it isn't to anyone that lives in Northern Minnesota.
Doesn't the fact that the area with the highest death rate of Moose and also the largest population of Wolves in the lower 48 States, set off any alarms??
This is finally coming to light! Before, any mention of the Wolf possibly being partly or largely responsible for a high rate of Moose kill was buried about 13 paragraphs into the story.
Another example of censorship by omission, which is becoming the norm in this country the last few years.
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ddietz336
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The last article, printed in the Strib I believe, on this very topic stated it had more to do with the influx of Deer and warmer climates allowing them to expand their territory. The climate side being a change over of the landscape to suit deer more than moose. The deer inturn carry specific diseases that the Moose are unable to defend against. Article was pretty good, and had more science and information than anything I have seen on the subject in the past 10 years. It was discussed at length on the board. I am sure their is a link somewhere to it.
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ellahallely
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Seems the only thing "we" can do to help the moose is to thin the wolves. As of now we can't change the climate. We can't kill the brain worm. What frontline for the ticks?
Nature has a way of taking care of things some of the time. The wolves are smaller and moving or dying off. If have found a couple of dead wolves in recent years. Very small and both had mange. Others I talk to have seem the same.
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liveoffgrid
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Wow! Us locals are shocked. Shocked I tell you'
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brantlars
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You want to save the moose kill the deer..probably too late for that now..and deer hunting brings in alot of money..deer populations have never been bigger than they are now across the country..the way its going i think the moose will be gone..and it would soon be worth it to bring a bow on a fall canoe trip.
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boondock
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The Isle doesn't have a whitetail or bear population either, so no transmission of the brainworm parasite from deer and the lack of another predator of calves.
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egknuti
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moose
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Savage Voyageur
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He stopped short of saying the wolf are the main problem. Well then riddle me this Batman, if only .24% of the calves are surviving the winter in the areas that have doubled the wolf population what else can it be?
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Savage Voyageur
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The Great Outdoors: "They seem to think this is a big surprise, but it isn't to anyone that lives in Northern Minnesota.
Doesn't the fact that the area with the highest death rate of Moose and also the largest population of Wolves in the lower 48 States, set off any alarms??
This is finally coming to light! Before, any mention of the Wolf possibly being partly or largely responsible for a high rate of Moose kill was buried about 13 paragraphs into the story.
Another example of censorship by omission, which is becoming the norm in this country the last few years."
Totally agree with you Jim, and Ellahalley. Fully,or part to blame Wolves need to eat. The logical thing to do is thin the wolves. Let it be a test area to put this thing to bed once and for all. Figure out the number of wolves vs Moose and try to maintain that number. We can debate this thing all we want. But the things I’ve read say it could be Brain worms, ticks, climate change, mange, wolves and others that are responsible for the Moose population decline. Out of this list what can we change drastically in the coming year? Let’s see...the wolf population maybe? You can quote all the studies you want saying it this or that but this I know. The population of Moose on Isle Royale is growing and the wolf population is about zero. Isle Royale has all the same problems as the mainland but one thing...wolves.
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OSLO
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Every article that I have read has acknowledged that predation by wolves affects the moose population. However, the issue is obviously far more complex than simply blaming these predators. For example, the northeastern United States has seen significant declines in moose as well, and they don't have wolves. Meanwhile, Alaska and Washington have seen increases in moose, and they do have wolves.
Wolves tend to attack weak and sick moose, such as those which have been affected by winter ticks, brainworms, flukes, warmer weather, etc. How many of the moose killed by wolves would have died of the aforementioned causes whether the predators were there or not? The other downside of decreasing wolf numbers is that you end up with more deer, and that will likely cause more moose to get brainworm. Not that I am saying that wolf numbers should not be decreased, but I think that we need to acknowledge that this is a complicated situation involving two native species, and there probably will not be an easy solution for stabilizing the moose population in Minnesota.
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